240sx s13 shutting off problems and over heating HELP

[s13Cory]

I have a 1990 s13, and I've been having problems with the over heating and it shutting off. This might be a lot to read but I tried to provide as much info as possible, any questions just ask and I'll try to answer them as quickly and efficiently as possible. Thank you for your time!
:newbie:

Over Heating problem: It'll heat up to half way fairly quick, then after driving for a couple of minutes, it'll start to over heat, sometimes it'll stick around the H, sometimes it'll drop down a little bit or back to the middle, stay for alittle and go right back up, tried to put the heat on blast, doesn't help. I've replaced so far, the radiator, thermostat twice with a new gasket (The guy before me that i bought it off of had like 3 boxes of thermostats in the trunk), bleed it, just about everything and still over heats. The carpet on the passenger was wet in a spot, and someone told me it was my heater core and then after I found that spot, the next day, it didn't over heat for a while, then snow came and it over heated that day and the wet spot never came back again (And no nothing spilled to make the spot), so as of now I am completely confused as to what is making my car over heat, so any idea's or if you know what it could be, please let me know. I maybe thinking something with the heater core.

Shutting off problem: My car (besides the over heating), will run pretty good. Recently got a new distributor and everything and the ignition system, ran okay, then went to friends house to put my new exhaust on (I had no exhaust on for a while and ran it a little without one, 3' dual straight pipe from ISIS), after that was installed, I took it for a test drive, ran good for about 5 minutes, then all of a sudden the RPM's just flat lined at 0, no gas response at all, and just shut off. Sometimes it'll shut off, sometimes it'll bounce right back up and I can keep going, but its completely random when it happens and I don't know what could be causing this problem..so any help on this or the over heating would be greatly appreciated, hopefully you read all of this. lol Again, thanks for your time!

[Ilya]

Car overheating = from bad head gasket to faulty sensor that makes you think it's overheating. Check oil for milkyness. Replace the two coolant temp sensors. They are right next to each other. One has a single wire, one has two wires. One wire sensor is for your gauge and guage only. The two wire one is for the ecu to know the temperature of the engine which is used for engine fuel control. If the guage sensor is bad, you could be mislead to believe you are overheating, however, if the ecu temp sensor is bad, it will explain your shutting off problem(the ecu thinks the car is cold and floods the cylinders with fuel).

Replace those two sensor, properly bleed the coolant system, make sure the thermostat is installed correctly with the bump/nipple on thermostat @12 o'clock to help with bleeding.

Best tool to have is a nissan consult tool. I got one from eBay, and you can see everything that your ecu sees and it's greAt for troubleshooting things like this

[s13Cory]

Okay. I'll try and replace those and check on my thermostat because I didn't really know there was a certain way to put it in. lol What bump/nipple thing are you talking about exactly?

[Ilya]

Okay. I'll try and replace those and check on my thermostat because I didn't really know there was a certain way to put it in. lol What bump/nipple thing are you talking about exactly?

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/stant-superstat-153-super-premium-thermostat-170-degrees-fahrenheit-45967/5650098-P?searchTerm=thermostat#fragment-3

The nipple in the outter ring of the thermostat. Its Gold

[s13Cory]

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/stant-superstat-153-super-premium-thermostat-170-degrees-fahrenheit-45967/5650098-P?searchTerm=thermostat#fragment-3

The nipple in the outter ring of the thermostat. Its Gold

The other one I had, had that but the one that is in there does not.

[Ilya]

The other one I had, had that but the one that is in there does not.

Get a new tstat with a little gold nipple

[s13Cory]

Get a new tstat with a little gold nipple

Okay, I have replaced the 2 sensors, and got a thermo, and it seems like the shutting off problem is worse. I couldn't drive it long enough to tell if it over heats or not, but the temp did raise pretty quick. I got in the car, went down my street which is like a 2 minute road, it flat lined then bounced back up (RPM's) so I turned around, and as I was heading back to my house down my street, it shut off on me 3 times.

[Ilya]

Are you lowered? Check the wheel well harnesses.

[Ilya]

Overheating also means you did not bleed the coolant right. Go out while the car is cold, open the bleed valve, and add more coolant until coolant pours out of the hole. Then start it with the heater on and full blast on hot. Also, read the EC & EF section of the 240sx FSM. It has all the trouble diagnosis.

[s13Cory]

I am lowered, but not that low but I will check. And I did bleed the car till coolant came out the bleed valve, but I wasn't able to drive the car enough to see if it does over heat or not. It didn't start the shut off problem till after I installed my exhaust, so whenever I get time I'm gonna take the exhaust off and see if the problem still continues.

[vanfrankgo]

Then start it with the heater on and full blast on hot. Also, read the EC & EF section of the 240sx FSM. It has all the trouble diagnosis.http://goo.gl/oVU9zE

[Ilya]

It should not be your exhaust unless it it has a plug in it.

[Frank_Jaeger]

I'm assuming you have the stock clutch fan. Try slowly inserting a rolled up newspaper into the blades as its spinning (the engine should be fully warmed up when you do this). If the blades easily stop, your clutch fan is bad.

Also when you bleed the engine, make sure the front end is jacked way up. Let it warm up about 1/4 and then use the throttle cable to rev it up a bunch. Add water until no more bubbles are coming out of the radiator. If bubbles keep coming out, you have a blown headgasket. If you have a big stubborn air bubble it's going to keep overheating until you fully bleed the system. Make sure the heater's on blast the entire time you do this.

Your water pump could be bad. Usually when they go bad they start to leak out the weep hole, but you didn't mention coolant loss. It's worth checking out.

The shutting off could be any number of things. Because it's intermittent I'd suspect electrical problems. Bad grounds, fuel pump wiring, etc.

[s13Cory]

I'm assuming you have the stock clutch fan. Try slowly inserting a rolled up newspaper into the blades as its spinning (the engine should be fully warmed up when you do this). If the blades easily stop, your clutch fan is bad.

Also when you bleed the engine, make sure the front end is jacked way up. Let it warm up about 1/4 and then use the throttle cable to rev it up a bunch. Add water until no more bubbles are coming out of the radiator. If bubbles keep coming out, you have a blown headgasket. If you have a big stubborn air bubble it's going to keep overheating until you fully bleed the system. Make sure the heater's on blast the entire time you do this.

Your water pump could be bad. Usually when they go bad they start to leak out the weep hole, but you didn't mention coolant loss. It's worth checking out.

The shutting off could be any number of things. Because it's intermittent I'd suspect electrical problems. Bad grounds, fuel pump wiring, etc.

Okay, I'll do that ASAP and I'll post back progress when done. And I was thinking about the water pump but was un-sure about but planned on replacing it sometime just so I know that it's been done.

It should not be your exhaust unless it it has a plug in it. I didn't think it was my exhaust because I couldn't see how, but considering it didn't start shutting off till right after I installed it, I figured I'd try it for the hell of it and see what happens. lol

[s13Cory]

I'm assuming you have the stock clutch fan. Try slowly inserting a rolled up newspaper into the blades as its spinning (the engine should be fully warmed up when you do this). If the blades easily stop, your clutch fan is bad.

Also when you bleed the engine, make sure the front end is jacked way up. Let it warm up about 1/4 and then use the throttle cable to rev it up a bunch. Add water until no more bubbles are coming out of the radiator. If bubbles keep coming out, you have a blown headgasket. If you have a big stubborn air bubble it's going to keep overheating until you fully bleed the system. Make sure the heater's on blast the entire time you do this.

Your water pump could be bad. Usually when they go bad they start to leak out the weep hole, but you didn't mention coolant loss. It's worth checking out.

The shutting off could be any number of things. Because it's intermittent I'd suspect electrical problems. Bad grounds, fuel pump wiring, etc.

Actually come to find out, I have an after market electric fan.

[s13Cory]

UPDATE: I'm pretty sure I have bleed it correctly. But un-sure about over heating because of the shutting off problem causing me not being able to drive it. But as it was sitting there for a bit running, the temp slowly raised and stayed in the middle, nice hot heat.

ALSO, the car seems to only shut off while driving, but never really while sitting.
EDIT: Just went to go start it up, was running for not even a minute and it just quit on me. lol

[fliprayzin240sx]

Still doesnt sound like you bled the system enough...just because you had coolant come out of the bleeder screw doesnt mean you got all the air out of the system.

[s13Cory]

Well everyone always say make sure you have coolant at both ends, and I had a nice stream of coolant coming out of the screw before I screwed it in, but I could do it again tomorrow if its a good idea.

[Ilya]

Pull the spark plugs out and see if the cylinders are wet, after you run it for as long as possible before it shuts off. Roll a piece of paper into a tube and shove it into the now empty spark plug hole and smell if any cylinder smells like gas more than others. It's either fuel, air, or spark problem. Test spark plugs by inserting them back into the spark wire, hold the spark plug end against the engine block, and crank the engine(make sure to disconnect injectors to keep them from spraying fuel into the cylinders). Let's start there.

[Ilya]

Take Apart all your recent ignition upgrades you mentioned in the first post and put them back on or put old parts back on

[s13Cory]

Okay, I will try this as soon as I get the chance and I'll report back here with updates. And I can't put the ignition system back on because the other one was bad and I took it to a shop to get that done so I don't even have it. lol

[Ilya]

Okay, I will try this as soon as I get the chance and I'll report back here with updates. And I can't put the ignition system back on because the other one was bad and I took it to a shop to get that done so I don't even have it. lol

OHHHHHHHH GREAT! :wiggle:

[s13Cory]

OHHHHHHHH GREAT! :wiggle:

Is that sarcastic because of the ignition thing or just great because I'll report back when done? Lol :eek3:

[s13Cory]

Pull the spark plugs out and see if the cylinders are wet, after you run it for as long as possible before it shuts off. Roll a piece of paper into a tube and shove it into the now empty spark plug hole and smell if any cylinder smells like gas more than others. It's either fuel, air, or spark problem. Test spark plugs by inserting them back into the spark wire, hold the spark plug end against the engine block, and crank the engine(make sure to disconnect injectors to keep them from spraying fuel into the cylinders). Let's start there.

Okay, I pulled the spark plugs after running the car for a little bit. The first hole you could barley smell any but gets stronger as you go towards the back. And while pulling the spark plug cables, the medal pieces inside came out on 3 of them so now I needa get 4 new cables. lol And tomorrow I'm gonna be checking the ECU and see if its throwing any codes.

[Ilya]

sounds like you found one problem! Spark plug cables should not break when you take them out...

[s13Cory]

I might be getting them today or tomorrow. And what about the smell getting stronger as you get to the last spark plug hole, anything about that?

[Ilya]

Depends on whether the cylinder top was wet or not. It could be anything from weak spark to a leaky injector to a bad fuel pressure regulator. Hopefully it's just spark plug wires

[s13Cory]

well I got the new spark plug cables, but I think they're too big or something and I'm pretty sure I have the firing order correct because when I start my car it sounds like crap.

[Ilya]

no such thing as too big of wire. The Distributor should have the firing order and spark plug wire number to cylinder indications on it.

[s13Cory]

I only thought that because they're a pain in the a** to put in. lol But on the distributor it only has the number 1 on it indicating where the first one goes. But I might have done it wrong, so I'll have to re-check it maybe today if it doesn't rain.

[Ilya]

http://www.nicoclub.com/articles/images/240sx_timing_3.jpg

[s13Cory]

Awesome, I'll double check when I get home and post back here with an update. Thank you for your help so far.

[kruked]

What about the smell getting stronger as you get to the last spark plug hole, anything about that?

You can't use the same rolled up paper in all 4 cylinders, if that is what you did.


It seems like your "new to you" distributor is faulty. Go drive the car, have a screw driver at hand. When the problem happens, immediately pull over, pop the hood, pull a plug wire off of a spark plug, insert screw driver, position near a ground point, start the car and look for spark.


I don't recall reading that you changed cap and rotor, have you done so? Also, on the cap, it is numbered for cylinder order.

[s13Cory]

You can't use the same rolled up paper in all 4 cylinders, if that is what you did.


It seems like your "new to you" distributor is faulty. Go drive the car, have a screw driver at hand. When the problem happens, immediately pull over, pop the hood, pull a plug wire off of a spark plug, insert screw driver, position near a ground point, start the car and look for spark.


I don't recall reading that you changed cap and rotor, have you done so? Also, on the cap, it is numbered for cylinder order.

That is what I did. I'll try again with different papers in each cylinder.

And okay, I'll try that. I also heard that GM did a re-call on the ignition systems in some cars because it'll randomly shut the car off..I got mine replaced at a shop, maybe that could just be the problem?

And yes, I have changed the cap and rotor.

EDIT: I got the spark plug cables right, took it for a drive and it was okay for about a good 8 minutes, then again, just flat lined and shut off, started back up, so I turned around and went home and then about 6-7 different times the RPM's just jump from 0 to 3 and after I sit for a minute it'll settle down and I can continue to drive. I wasn't able to test for spark because it was just me. ALSO, as I was driving for that time period, usually it would of over heated already, but it stayed right in the middle so the over heating problem as of now, is fixed.

[Ilya]

Check out the EF/EC portion of the FSM.
http://240edge.com/manuals/s13-ka24de.html

Sound like the problem only happens when the car is warmed up. Makes be think of a few things
-iacv valve
-egr valve
-vacuum leak
-intake leak (un metered air entering/metered air leaving)

When does the car shut off? During acceleration, deceleration, idle, heavy electric load, turning?
Disconnect the TPS while the car is off. Start it up and let it warm up. While warming up Check the vacuum hoses by the firewall/fpr/ egr crap. There are many so you may have to disconnect some. Let the car idle till it's warm and see if it will crap out on you while idleing. Turn the iacv idle adjust screw out to increase idle. Report the results. If it does crap out, disconnect maf sensor and try restarting.

[s13Cory]

Sorry I haven't been posting back, since Thursday I've been moving to a different house so I haven't had time to do anything with my car. I know it can't be my ignition system because I was just thinking that the reason why I took it to the shop was because I broke down at a gas station because of the shutting off problem, but wouldn't start because the ignition I had was bad. So it has to be something electrical or something. And I have no EGR stuff, whoever had the car before me took it all off. And the car will sometimes shut off from idling, accelerating, decelerating, its just completely random. I drove about 4 miles to my old neighborhood, car stood there for about 3-4 hours, and drove another 4 miles or so back home, all perfectly fine. Its just random. :smash: I'll check some other stuff when I get the chance and post back ASAP.

[smellslikerubber]

Check out the EF/EC portion of the FSM.
http://240edge.com/manuals/s13-ka24de.html

Sound like the problem only happens when the car is warmed up. Makes be think of a few things
-iacv valve
-egr valve
-vacuum leak
-intake leak (un metered air entering/metered air leaving)

When does the car shut off? During acceleration, deceleration, idle, heavy electric load, turning?
Disconnect the TPS while the car is off. Start it up and let it warm up. While warming up Check the vacuum hoses by the firewall/fpr/ egr crap. There are many so you may have to disconnect some. Let the car idle till it's warm and see if it will crap out on you while idleing. Turn the iacv idle adjust screw out to increase idle. Report the results. If it does crap out, disconnect maf sensor and try restarting.

i have the same problem as s13cory. all his symtoms are very similar to mine. i can drive it to and from work (about 8 miles 1 way) any further and it will die...while the car is running and getting warm should the TPS be reconnected to see if that kills it? i was just told by someone else last night that once the car dies to unplug MAFS and see what happens?

i have replaced my coolant temp. sensor and a new ignitor (both nissan parts)

dont mean to thread jack, just been chasing this issue for close to 3 months and havent gotten anywhere! drives me crazy

also i have an RB20 if that helps anyone

[Ilya]

Sorry I haven't been posting back, since Thursday I've been moving to a different house so I haven't had time to do anything with my car. I know it can't be my ignition system because I was just thinking that the reason why I took it to the shop was because I broke down at a gas station because of the shutting off problem, but wouldn't start because the ignition I had was bad. So it has to be something electrical or something. And I have no EGR stuff, whoever had the car before me took it all off. And the car will sometimes shut off from idling, accelerating, decelerating, its just completely random. I drove about 4 miles to my old neighborhood, car stood there for about 3-4 hours, and drove another 4 miles or so back home, all perfectly fine. Its just random. :smash: I'll check some other stuff when I get the chance and post back ASAP.

Is your car lowered? Check the fender harnesses in the wheel well

[s13Cory]

Is your car lowered? Check the fender harnesses in the wheel well

It is, but not that low, I looked before and it looks good.

EDIT: I had to take my girlfriend home yesterday and I had no choice but to take my car, and I made it to her street about 10 minutes away, started to bounce around (RPM) and also cut off twice then but it stopped and I made it the other 10 minutes or so back home with no other problems. Kinda seems like it doesn't try and cut off when I go fast.

[Ilya]

It is, but not that low, I looked before and it looks good.

EDIT: I had to take my girlfriend home yesterday and I had no choice but to take my car, and I made it to her street about 10 minutes away, started to bounce around (RPM) and also cut off twice then but it stopped and I made it the other 10 minutes or so back home with no other problems. Kinda seems like it doesn't try and cut off when I go fast.

ugh girlfriends and 240sx do not go well together!!!!

You have started the car enough times for it to throw a ECU code, just because the Check Engine Light is not on does not mean a code is not stored or exists. Grab the codes and report back, it has to be something obvious that we are missing here.

[s13Cory]

Okay, UPDATE. Finally got to be able to try and read the codes from the ECU. I have it in Mode II (Engine OFF)- Stored Self Diagnostic Results, And the red bulb blinks twice, pauses, blinks twice then blinks one time fast. And then blinks 3 times, and 4 times fast. So im guessing 34 for that one but the other I have no idea? I have a 1990 240, but I'm pretty sure the engine is a 94, so could someone send me a codes list or tell me what codes they are and what the first code is?

EDIT: If im not mistaken, I think its reading the codes 11, 21 and 34.

[s13Cory]

ugh girlfriends and 240sx do not go well together!!!!



Hahaha! She hates my car cuz she thinks its too loud. Which it is loud, but I love it. lol

[Ilya]

Okay, UPDATE. Finally got to be able to try and read the codes from the ECU. I have it in Mode II (Engine OFF)- Stored Self Diagnostic Results, And the red bulb blinks twice, pauses, blinks twice then blinks one time fast. And then blinks 3 times, and 4 times fast. So im guessing 34 for that one but the other I have no idea? I have a 1990 240, but I'm pretty sure the engine is a 94, so could someone send me a codes list or tell me what codes they are and what the first code is?

EDIT: If im not mistaken, I think its reading the codes 11, 21 and 34.

Do it again and watch the pattern, once you figure it out, its easy to read the code. Long blinks indicate the 10s place, and short blinks indicate the 1s place. from your description you got codes 20, 21, 34. there is no code 20 so Im guessing you got code 11. You are lucky because non of these codes put a check engine light on your gauge to tell you you have a fault.

11 - Camshaft position sensor
21 - Ignition signal in the primary circuit is not being entered to the ECU during cranking or tuning
34 - Knock Sensor

All of those will make your car run funny.

Start by deleting the codes, starting the car for a few minutes, turn it off and grab codes again to verify none of them are from your initial failure. Once complete start with Camshaft Position Sensor and harness connection. Not really sure hot to test the Knock Sensor, I have been trying to find that out my self.

All of this is in the FSM EC/EF section.

[s13Cory]

Do it again and watch the pattern, once you figure it out, its easy to read the code. Long blinks indicate the 10s place, and short blinks indicate the 1s place. from your description you got codes 20, 21, 34. there is no code 20 so Im guessing you got code 11. You are lucky because non of these codes put a check engine light on your gauge to tell you you have a fault.

11 - Camshaft position sensor
21 - Ignition signal in the primary circuit is not being entered to the ECU during cranking or tuning
34 - Knock Sensor

All of those will make your car run funny.

Start by deleting the codes, starting the car for a few minutes, turn it off and grab codes again to verify none of them are from your initial failure. Once complete start with Camshaft Position Sensor and harness connection. Not really sure hot to test the Knock Sensor, I have been trying to find that out my self.

All of this is in the FSM EC/EF section.

My knock sensor is on under the intake mani but it stops just a couple inches up that's suppose to plug into something else. Me and my brother both think it could most likely be the code 21, but I'll look about the other codes and I'll try and see if the codes exist still tomorrow and I'll update back.

Also, when checking the codes, and you turn the ECU back to mode I, doesn't that automatically erase the codes? I read that it did, but just making sure because if not, I'll need to look up how to erase them.

[Ilya]

You are correct, to erase the code, go back to mode 1. But you still need to start the car for the ecu to register all the faults it sees.

Your Knock Sensor should be under the intake manifold, but you lose me with your description. First and foremost, work on code 11 which is indicating you have a bad Crank Shaft Position Sensor.
FSM EC/EF PG 159 has the troubleshooting steps

[s13Cory]

Alright, good. I did that. And I took it up my street and back and had it started a couple of times since I erased codes, haven't checked codes again yet but I will later on tonight and I'll post back if I get the same or different.

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/42/0i7dv.jpg
Here's my knock sensor cable. It starts under the intake manifold, then stops right there. lol

And alright, will do, I'll look into that ASAP.

[Ilya]

yeah it should be connected, that will really make your car run extremely fun, since your timing can be all over the place. What happened to the harness? I believe the distributor/Crankshaft Position sensor and the Knock sensor are on the same harness. That could be your single point failure.

[s13Cory]

I have no idea what the guy did to the harness..Its a complete mess to be honest..lol Wires all over, a lot don't even go anywhere, electrical taped just about everything, wires split, just a mess. Trying not to have to re-do the whole thing although I know it would be nice.

EDIT: Just checked for codes again, now its only throwing code 34. But my car hasn't shut off on me yet, so would it throw the other codes after it has done that, or does that not matter?

[Ilya]

From your description of the harness, it sounds like an electrical problem. My car runs funny when I disconnect my knock sensor. It will throw a code 34 and have weird unstable idle.

It sounds like an electrical issue with your harness that points to the distributor/crankshaft position sensor harness. I would go and undo all the electrical tape on the harness and use solder and heat shrink instead. Also CONNECT your knock sensor!!!

post more pictures of the harness, I am curious to see how bad it is

[s13Cory]

From your description of the harness, it sounds like an electrical problem. My car runs funny when I disconnect my knock sensor. It will throw a code 34 and have weird unstable idle.

It sounds like an electrical issue with your harness that points to the distributor/crankshaft position sensor harness. I would go and undo all the electrical tape on the harness and use solder and heat shrink instead. Also CONNECT your knock sensor!!!

post more pictures of the harness, I am curious to see how bad it is

My car runs perfectly fine (besides the shutting off problem) and idles good. And alright, I'll try and undo some tape and fix it up. And I'll have to get a new cable for the knock sensor because that part in the picture is all I have.

And tonight I'll post more pictures of it.

[Ilya]

well that part that you have for the knock sensor is the "knock sensor connector". You just need to find where it plugs into your main harness. The main harness should have a branch off of it to connect to the Knock Sensor.

[s13Cory]

As far as I can see, I see nothing on my main harness that connects to it.

Here are more pictures of everything under the hood. Hopefully you can see the mess. lol http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/534/3b26.jpg
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/843/p7zb.jpg
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/850/94m1.jpg
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/59/oa7s.jpg
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/716/n4w0.jpg
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/18/u9k9.jpg
http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/822/ijqd.jpg

[Ilya]

.....holly shit....

[s13Cory]

Told you it was terrible lmao.

I just got back from taking it to a different shop that my uncle takes his truck, told him what it does and about the codes, my dad wanted to try it there and see if the person there can fix it or find out whats wrong with it exactly. Now just gotta play the waiting game.

[Ilya]

Told you it was terrible lmao.

I just got back from taking it to a different shop that my uncle takes his truck, told him what it does and about the codes, my dad wanted to try it there and see if the person there can fix it or find out whats wrong with it exactly. Now just gotta play the waiting game.

You mean the PAYING games...

Best idea would be to spend 300 on a new wiring harness if you dont wanna deal with electronics. Besides that, you will end up paying someone probably just as much to repair it.

http://www.wiringspecialties.com/s13kaenha.html

http://www.frsport.com/Wiring-Specialties-WRS-S13KA-MAIN-S13-KA24DE-Engine-Harness---Nissan-S13-240SX_p_142383.html

http://www.frsport.com/S13-KA24DE-Transmission-Harness---Nissan-S13-240SX_p_142384.html?gclid=CKLl59rRyr0CFbBj7AodDBwA Mg

[s13Cory]

Yeah, got that right..

And yeah true, but getting a new harness is what I'm trying not to do right now, because I won't be able to do it myself, and I have no one else that's able to help, so right now I'm just trying to fix it as it is and then later on down the road re-do the harness and some other things.

[Ilya]

I'm afraid that in order to fix it, your first step would be a good harness. I believe it will harder to fix the old one than buying and installing a new one. I'm sure you can disconnect and reconnect 20 individual connectors. But good luck my friend and keep us informed on your progress

[s13Cory]

I'm afraid that in order to fix it, your first step would be a good harness. I believe it will harder to fix the old one than buying and installing a new one. I'm sure you can disconnect and reconnect 20 individual connectors. But good luck my friend and keep us informed on your progress

Well if this shop can't fix it, then I guess the next step will be having to re-do the harness. Hopefully my car won't be there for long so I'll post the progress as soon as I hear something.

[s13Cory]

Well a week went by, the guy was suppose to look/start on it last Monday and I haven't heard anything back yet so I'll have to go up there some day and ask how its going and see whats up. Just a little update.

[Ilya]

Well a week went by, the guy was suppose to look/start on it last Monday and I haven't heard anything back yet so I'll have to go up there some day and ask how its going and see whats up. Just a little update.

Good Luck....those type of post where the car has been gone a week and the dude is just "STARTING" to look at it typically dont end well, make sure you put some pressure on in.

[s13Cory]

Will do for sure. I'll update again if anything comes up or nothing else happens.

[s13Cory]

UPDATE: Well, the guy said he let the car run for about 15 minutes and then it just shut off, like it usually does, and he said the new distributor is bad. Said its after market one and those sometimes go quick. But idk, pretty sure got another one of those and he's still gonna look over and do process of elimination and see what happens. lol

[kruked]

You should've checked the distributor like I mentioned. Then you should have really checked it after you checked the ECU for codes and got the distributor code.

[s13Cory]

You should've checked the distributor like I mentioned. Then you should have really checked it after you checked the ECU for codes and got the distributor code.

Damn, yeah..I totally forgot about that. I wouldn't be able to because I'm pretty much working on this car by myself and learning as I go. But you're right, wish I would of done that before. lol But it wasn't throwing any codes for the distributor, just mainly the knock sensor after the codes were deleted and was only throwing that one.

[kruked]

It happens brother. Learning curve for you. No one knows it all when they jump into any situation.

[Chaluska]

Overheating also means you did not bleed the coolant right. Go out while the car is cold, open the bleed valve, and add more coolant until coolant pours out of the hole. Then start it with the heater on and full blast on hot. Also, read the EC & EF section of the 240sx FSM. It has all the trouble diagnosis.

This is absolutely NOT the way to bleed a KA. I've bled KA's successfully dozens of times.

Here is how you PROPERLY bleed a KA (no bullshit "bleeder screw" used)

assuming you are installing a new OEM thermostat, cut the jiggle valve out of the stat, and then remove the brass insert that the jiggle valve went out of. this is a hole big enough to allow ANY air to flush on by without getting trapped in the tiny orifice.

install the stat with the jiggle valve hole in the 12 o clock position.

bolt everything together, and turn your AC switch panel to heat.

jack the front of the car in the air, and fill the radiator with fluid.

*** leave the radiator cap off ***

*** DISABLE YOUR FANS ***

start the car, and let it warm up. depending on how big of a radiator you have, it can take anywhere between 15-30 minutes for the car to actually get hot enough to open the stat to allow water flow. you can rev the engine a couple of times to get some extra heat.

keep an eye on the radiator fill port, and watch for the coolant to start rushing like a river. once you see the water rushing, that means the thermostat is open and flowing water.

top the radiator with coolant, and then cap it (be careful, as it will be hot)

Fill the expansion port to where the hot line is, and make sure your radiator cap is on correctly.

if you do ^^^^, your engine will be bled, and you will not have any issues.

[Chaluska]

I

Shutting off problem: My car (besides the over heating), will run pretty good. Recently got a new distributor and everything and the ignition system, ran okay, then went to friends house to put my new exhaust on (I had no exhaust on for a while and ran it a little without one, 3' dual straight pipe from ISIS), after that was installed, I took it for a test drive, ran good for about 5 minutes, then all of a sudden the RPM's just flat lined at 0, no gas response at all, and just shut off. Sometimes it'll shut off, sometimes it'll bounce right back up and I can keep going, but its completely random when it happens and I don't know what could be causing this problem..so any help on this or the over heating would be greatly appreciated, hopefully you read all of this. lol Again, thanks for your time!

This problem almost sounds the fuel pump failing, or maybe a fuel pump relay failing. I would look into ECCS relays, Fuel pump relays, corroded connections on the fuel pump.

is the entire vehicle electrical system going off (radio, all gauges, lights) or just the engine?

If EVERYTHING is dying at once, definitely look into bad battery connections, grounds, main harness grounds, etc.

EDIT :

I am an idiot and didn't realize there were 63 replies to the thread.. still wouldn't hurt for future searches from other people with similar issues.

[s13Cory]

Hahaha, all good. I fixed the over heating, just needed to bleed it right. I read up how and what people were telling me, just fill it up till it starts coming out of the bleed screw with heat on blast and it was good after that. Just trying to find out the shutting off problem now, and no, just the engine dies on me, everything else is good. Its at a shop right now and the guy said the new distributor was bad so we're replacing that. I'll be back up there mid-week and check up and post back with an update.

[s13Cory]

UPDATE

So the guy still hasn't done much, my dad went up to the shop to see how it was going and hasn't really done anything, so he told him if nothing has changed by this coming up Friday, we're pulling it. So I'll be back Friday with another update.

[Driftwire]

you can ship me the harness and I will go through it and redo any faults.

[s13Cory]

I honestly think it would be better to buy a good used one than go through the one I haven now because its so messed up..lol

[Wookie384]

Going off the pictures I'm guessing your car is an '89-90 model and the dual cam was swapped in? I can see your power steering is not hooked up, and yes that wire harness is a mess, I would get a good clean harness (either a known unmolested used one or a new one) and then work on getting everything in proper OEM order. Make sure the car has all it's ground connections hooked up and the wires aren't frayed/broken. There should be a ground from the intake manifold to the chassis, and valve cover to chassis (on the firewall).

[s13Cory]

Going off the pictures I'm guessing your car is an '89-90 model and the dual cam was swapped in? I can see your power steering is not hooked up, and yes that wire harness is a mess, I would get a good clean harness (either a known unmolested used one or a new one) and then work on getting everything in proper OEM order. Make sure the car has all it's ground connections hooked up and the wires aren't frayed/broken. There should be a ground from the intake manifold to the chassis, and valve cover to chassis (on the firewall).

The car is a 90 and the it was a swap. Engine is a 94. And that is correct, I do not have PS. Just the way I like it. :D And I can't remember about the grounds, I'll have to look at that when I get my car back. If me or anyone else can't figure out the problem without having to replace the wiring harness then I guess the next step is to get a good used one and replace it.

[s13Cory]

UPDATE

Went to the shop friday, guy had the car running, said it has been sitting there idling good for about an hour, said he was messing with timing on it and was about to go test drive it. Should be going back tomorrow or today and see how it still is.

[s13Cory]

HUGE UPDATE!!!!!!

Went there yesterday, guy said no shutting off problem, had the car running for an hour, test drove it, all good. So I guess it was a faulty distributor. Also found a gas leak and got that fixed. Now they're just working on my voltage meter and fan switch wiring and it should be good to go. :)

I'll update back when I get the car back or anything else happens.

[Ilya]

shhhweeeettt

[s13Cory]

Hopefully that was the actual problem. We'll find out whenever i get it back and drive it. But so far so good.

[s13Cory]

Get the car back today. Hopefully its good...

[s13Cory]

UPDATE

I thought I fixed this problem, but I guess not. The car still over heats but as far as I know, the shutting off problem is fixed. I got a new water pump, then test drove it, ran good for about 20 minutes then started to go up my street and it started to over heat. It boils in the upper radiator hose. So today, I'm just gonna take out the thermostat and see if it over heats anymore, if not, then I'm guessing thats the problem. I did this before, and if i remember correctly it never over heated until I had to put it back in for winter. I have replaced just about everything to due with the cooling system so if this isn't the problem, idk what else could. And I HAVE correctly bleed the system.

[Ilya]

Before starting the car again, bleed it again by opening up the bleeder screw.

[s13Cory]

Right now, because its warm, its running 50/50 and the rest I had to use water, bleed it again yesterday with the screw and so far its been perfect. Drove for about an hour yesterday, no problems at all. :) Took it to school this morning, about 30 minutes of driving, all good.

[Frank_Jaeger]

Right now, because its warm, its running 50/50 and the rest I had to use water, bleed it again yesterday with the screw and so far its been perfect. Drove for about an hour yesterday, no problems at all. :) Took it to school this morning, about 30 minutes of driving, all good.
Make sure you put the thermostat back in. Don't run around without one! Shit's bad for your engine. It takes longer to warm up and it won't reach its intended operating temperature. It'll make you run rich.

Make sure you have the jiggle valve at 12 oclock. While the thermostat is out you should test it in some boiling water, even if it's new.

[s13Cory]

Make sure you put the thermostat back in. Don't run around without one! Shit's bad for your engine. It takes longer to warm up and it won't reach its intended operating temperature. It'll make you run rich.

Make sure you have the jiggle valve at 12 oclock. While the thermostat is out you should test it in some boiling water, even if it's new.

It was never taken out. :p And last time i installed it, that's where I put the jiggle valve. And I did test it. Works good. ^.^

So far I've driven it a lot, no problems at all. :) Hopefully nothing else occurs..lol

[kruked]

So, how much monies did you wind up spending?

[s13Cory]

Too damn much. But at least its working perfect now.

[s13Cory]

Not too long later, another problem. Now its starting to sputter as if its running out of gas but its not because i have a full tank..lol so when I get home I'm gonna check all my fluids

[Ilya]

Get a cheap fuel pressure gauge and put it inline on the feed side of the rail to monitor fuel pressure when it's sputtering.

[kruked]

Check ECU for codes. Might be knock sensor.

[s13Cory]

Idles weird also. and if i check the ECU, the knock sensor will show up because Its not plugged up. But it just started to happen. Honestly no idea why it randomly started to happen. and ill try that when I can @ilya

[Ilya]

Also, how do the exhaust tips look? Clean them, run the car for a few days if you can. If it's black, you are running rich. My injector was leaking and my exhaust tips were black and sutty!! Fixed it, cleaned them, and they are clean.

[sr20det0821]

I think i read in earlier post that you have aftermarket electric fans in the car. make sure the fans are spinning the right way, if the electric fan is inside the engine bay after the radiator they should be pulling if they are in front of the radiator they should be pushing easy way to check this is put a piece of paper opposite side of where the fan is an see which way the paper is going while the fan is on

[s13Cory]

Also, how do the exhaust tips look? Clean them, run the car for a few days if you can. If it's black, you are running rich. My injector was leaking and my exhaust tips were black and sutty!! Fixed it, cleaned them, and they are clean.

I have 3inch dual straight pipes, left one is black, the other is pretty clean compared to the other one.

[s13Cory]

I think i read in earlier post that you have aftermarket electric fans in the car. make sure the fans are spinning the right way, if the electric fan is inside the engine bay after the radiator they should be pulling if they are in front of the radiator they should be pushing easy way to check this is put a piece of paper opposite side of where the fan is an see which way the paper is going while the fan is on

Fan is going the right way.

[Ilya]

Clean the other exhaust tip, run the car through out the week to get some run time on the motor, see if the exhaust turns black again. In the mean time try to check the fuel pressure, and ecu codes.

[s13Cory]

Clean the other exhaust tip, run the car through out the week to get some run time on the motor, see if the exhaust turns black again. In the mean time try to check the fuel pressure, and ecu codes.

Alright I'll do that. And the ecu I know should through the knock sensor code because its not plugged up. but I'll check and see if it throws more than just that one and I'll update back later today.

[s13Cory]

update: getting fuel pressure regulator tomorrow instead of spending money on a gauge and blah blah. also checked plugs, white at tips which im sure equals lean? so i cleaned them off, if i should check anything for that reason, let me know. ALSO checked the ECU for codes, still only pulling knock sensor.

EDIT: also, it doesn't sputter while idling, just pretty much has a rough idle. its when i drive the car is when it starts to skip/sputter every couple of minutes or so.

[s13Cory]

ANOTHER UPDATE

Just switched fuel pressure regulator, and it still does it, also looked like the other guy had already put a new one in so im gonna take mine back.

[Ilya]

update: getting fuel pressure regulator tomorrow instead of spending money on a gauge and blah blah. also checked plugs, white at tips which im sure equals lean? so i cleaned them off, if i should check anything for that reason, let me know. ALSO checked the ECU for codes, still only pulling knock sensor.

EDIT: also, it doesn't sputter while idling, just pretty much has a rough idle. its when i drive the car is when it starts to skip/sputter every couple of minutes or so.

When you say white tips, were there deposits or were the tips just white?

Spend $30 on this and it will tell you everything with ease.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nissan-Consult-2-OBD-USB-DIAGNOSTIC-ECU-INTERFACE-1989-2000-DDL-14PIN-INTERFACE-/321402221772?hash=item4ad510b4cc&item=321402221772&pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&vxp=mtr

-So FPR is good, still leaves fuel pump?
-Injectors?(while idling rough, unplug them one by one to see which one does NOT change the idle)
-Timing?
-Put a 500K resistor into the Knock Sensor connector
-MAF?
-TPS?
-Distributor is new?
-Spark plugs? Brand and heat range?

[s13Cory]

When you say white tips, were there deposits or were the tips just white?

Spend $30 on this and it will tell you everything with ease.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nissan-Consult-2-OBD-USB-DIAGNOSTIC-ECU-INTERFACE-1989-2000-DDL-14PIN-INTERFACE-/321402221772?hash=item4ad510b4cc&item=321402221772&pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&vxp=mtr

-So FPR is good, still leaves fuel pump?
-Injectors?(while idling rough, unplug them one by one to see which one does NOT change the idle)
-Timing?
-Put a 500K resistor into the Knock Sensor connector
-MAF?
-TPS?
-Distributor is new?
-Spark plugs? Brand and heat range?

tips were just white.

And I'll try that.

The guy at the shop was messing with the timing, after i got it back, it was good till this happened and a couple days ago my brother moved the diss towards advanced because it was on retard and it started to idle fine, but when i started to drive it, it did it again, so i kept moving it and trying different places but it just messes up when you drive after doing that. IDk about the MAF and TPS and distributor is new. spark plugs like i said had white tips, so i sand papered and wire brushed them clean and still continued to do it. brand and heat range idk. how can i check?

[s13Cory]

checked the injectors, they all changed the idle of the car.

[quickdiversion]

Sounds like you either have no or very little coolant, A frozen thermostat, or a ton of air in your coolant system. I would check all these before you start on head gasket testing. Could be simpler than that.

[s13Cory]

Sounds like you either have no or very little coolant, A frozen thermostat, or a ton of air in your coolant system. I would check all these before you start on head gasket testing. Could be simpler than that.

Coolany is good, no air because I made sure I bled it well and good. thermostat is brand new and not over heating so i don't think its frozen. and head gasket is good. I think it has something to do with the timing but I don't know how to do that.

[quickdiversion]

Timing had absolutely nothing to do with excessive over heating, idle Or driving.

Your cooling system is a closed system, unless things like the headgaskets go.

Did you change the thermostat? Or were you told it was new?

I would pull it out and look at it, I would also take off any neck and piece that has silicon on b it. These are metal on metal surfaces and require very little silicon. Th here could be excessive silicon build up slowing down or blocking the coolant.


To reiterate, the cooling system is a closed system 99% of the time effected by the system itself.


I just reread your initial post again. The wet spot on the passenger spot, does it still accure?
Sounds like your heater core could be clogged.

[s13Cory]

Timing had absolutely nothing to do with excessive over heating, idle Or driving.

Your cooling system is a closed system, unless things like the headgaskets go.

Did you change the thermostat? Or were you told it was new?

I would pull it out and look at it, I would also take off any neck and piece that has silicon on b it. These are metal on metal surfaces and require very little silicon. Th here could be excessive silicon build up slowing down or blocking the coolant.


To reiterate, the cooling system is a closed system 99% of the time effected by the system itself.


I just reread your initial post again. The wet spot on the passenger spot, does it still accure?
Sounds like your heater core could be clogged.

I purchased the thermostat not too long ago, so I know its new. And I don't wanna pull it back out unless I absolutely have to because I don't wanna spend more money on coolant and another gasket. And when installing the gasket I put very little gasket sealer on it.

Before I picked it from the shop it was at, the guy was messing around with the timing, then it ran good for 2 weeks and then this happened. My brother messed with the distributor, it was on full retard so he moved it towards more advanced then it idled good, till you start to drive it for a second it'll start to mess up again and he said that has something to do with the timing I think so that's why I was starting to think it had something to do with timing.

And no, the wet spot appeared once and that was it. I've checked a couple more times after driving it, never appeared again.

[quickdiversion]

I still highly doubt it is your timing. I drove around for over a month with my exhaust came off 1 tooth and it never ran any different, cooler or hotter.

The heater core does not just randomly leak so that is odd. If you have all new coolant, just open the pet-cock at the bottom of the radiator and drain it into a clean container to reuse if you have to drain it again. I would open the return pipe up top and cap when it is cold, to let a little air into the system on purpose, try and bleed again and see if it burps the air out or not.

Quick question: Wen you squeeze the upper and lower rad hoses, do they crunch? or do they feel like new? Depending what coolant and how old it was before you got it, you may have a bunch of corrosion in your cooling system. Have you ever flushed it?

[s13Cory]

Does not crunch. Hoses are good. And I've had to put new coolant in it over about 6 different times not far from each other because of when I was dealing with the over heating issue which is now good.

[s13Cory]

took the car to one of my dads friends shop and see if he can figure it out.

[s13Cory]

Well for anyone who still cares, the shop said they don't want to work on the car because they have no idea what they are getting themselves into and it could cost us hundreds and hundreds of dollars so I had to go and pick it up. But when I did, it ran pretty good on the way home from the shop (which is about 10-15 minute drive), and I drove it around this morning and for like 40 minutes, still drove pretty good but I have no idea how..and by good I mean it doesn't have that rough pop that comes out the exhaust when idling or driving.